I Became A "Lady Who Teas" And Met Some Childhood TV Idols!

by DOUGLAS MARSHALL · October 14, 2008

[Photos via Scha Sadozai from 127 Photography]

For me, last Friday afternoon was an afternoon of firsts. For the first time in a long time I got to spend the afternoon sipping tea and eating finger sandwiches while waiting to have a mini facial, rather than slumped over a computer feverishly answering e mails. My date for the afternoon was LA Times’ Keren Eldad and we found ourselves in the palatial brownstone on the Upper East Side belonging to our gracious hostess, Meera Gandhi. Meera opened her home to have an afternoon tea party to celebrate Sphatika Skincare, founded by Janet League-Katzin.

Inside the elegant party, there was a treasure trove of people I’ve always wanted to meet.

One of the party’s hostesses was W Magazine’s Beauty Director, Jane Larkworthy. When you have a skincare party and invite Jane from W, you’re not messing around. I finally got a chance to meet Jane, who, in my opinion establishes the gold standard for regiments, products and palettes that the fashion community should be using to compliment their haute couture. If there is to be good fashion sense, there has to be good beauty sense behind it. Jane basically arms all the fashionistas with the holy grail of acceptable beauty. If Sphatika gets her stamp of approval, I thought, it has to be good.

Prior to getting my facial, Keren dragged me over to introduce me to someone “special” that she was very excited about. It wasn’t just anyone. It was Claire Huxtable. Okay, her real name is Phylicia Rashad, but I remember her from the Cosby Show as Mrs. Huxtable. She was warm and friendly and fun. I felt like I was having an outer body experience because I was meeting someone that I used to watch on TV while I was growing up. It got better.

After I had my all natural mini facial with products like Citrus Toner based on all natural botanicals, Fennel based exfoliant and Gold Serum (with actual gold pieces for anti-inflammatory benefits) I bumped into another childhood idol. Angela Bauer – Okay, it was Judith Light from Who’s the Boss and now she is on Ugly Betty. Keren and I got to speak with Judith for quite awhile and I learned that she is funny, engaging and extremely down to earth. Perhaps the highlight of the month!

I could not have asked for a nicer afternoon. Jane Larkworthy got up and spoke to us about the importance of using natural skincare products and clarified that it’s no longer a trend in the industry but really a destination. As the “bigger gun” companies seek to remove the parabens of yesterday and reduce the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate to go toward the greener ingredients, consumer are resorting to lines like Sphatika that deliver proven results with effective ingredients which are based on essential oils and extracts from plants and flowers. You won’t find synthetic ingredients in this line! Devotees like Sphatika’s founder Janet League-Katzin and Phylicia Rashad (one of the first customers of the line) clearly are onto something. They have skin that glows and looks youthful. More than that, I found they possess strong inner beings that reflect true principles of beauty.

That’s what Sphatika is all about: As I layed back for my mini facial I was given a crystal to keep and meditate with during my treatment. I was asked to have an “intention for my treatment”. I like that- channeling beauty and harmony from the inside while getting a treatment on the outside. It won my seal of approval and people told me I looked great after the facial. Like I said, it was an afternoon of firsts. I blew off work to relax AND I got my picture taken with Phylicia and Judith! It doesn’t get any better than that!